Keith Vaz praised Dr Ranger for donating £250,000 to set up a hub to support entrepreneurs….reports Rajitha Saleem

London’s South Bank University’s Keyworth Hall witnessed a unique event. Two most successful British Asians in their respective fields were competing each other to praise each other. One an award winning business entrepreneur who built a business empire with sheer determination and hard-work; and the other calling shots and grilling decision makers at the British parliament as the chairman of the Select Affairs Committee. Both Dr Rami Ranger CBE and Keith Vaz MP inspired the audience with their unique stories of breaking the glass ceilings.

Mr Keith Vaz MP, Chairman, Select Affairs Committee

“I constantly draw inspiration from my entrepreneur friends because as I see it, it is them who create real jobs for the people of the country, not the parliamentarians,” commented Keith Vaz, the veteran Labour politician. He praised Dr Ranger for donating £250,000 to set up a hub to support entrepreneurs.

Mr Vaz was delivering the first Dr Rami Ranger Enterprise Lecture at the London South Bank University. He added that it is not enough that you come up with a new enterprise, but urged to break the glass ceilings of any establishment.

“The issue of leadership is important to any entrepreneurship as is communication,” added Vaz.

Surprisingly he praised the leader of his rival party – Prime Minister David Cameron for his communication skills.

Mr Vaz said the success of our Prime Minister is that, he is one of the best communicator around. The Eton and Oxford educated Cameron, armed with his PPE, is known for his skill to engage with the audience.

Vaz said the qualities of confidence, creativity, intuition and delegation for the great successes in businesses in the world today. He cited the example of Manchester United’s most successful coach Alex Ferguson’s example. Mr Fergusson, a shipyard worker turned football coach, mastered the quality of delegation to become one of the most successful football managers the world has seen.

Dr Rami Ranger CBE, Chairman, Sun Mark Group

He lauded the contribution the Rami Ranger Enterprise Excellence Fund is providing for the student and graduate entrepreneurship in the London South Bank University. LSBU’s entrepreneurship and Innovation institute has supported five entrepreneurships so far, providing students with first hand access to their expertise. The institute has supported 220 businesses and business ideas in the last academic year.

Vaz complimented Dr Rami Ranger on providing the initial financial support to the entrepreneurships, which he said would go a long way towards establishing their business. He added that he is all praise for the enterprising nature of prominent people in the Indian diaspora.

Mr Vaz added that age is not a barrier when it comes to establishing and finding success in new businesses by citing the example of Captain Nair who established the luxury hotel chain of Leela hotels at the age of 65.

Mr Gurpreet Jagpal, Director and CEO of South Bank University Enterprise Ltd, was the master of the ceremony. Professor Patrick Bailey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, presided over the function.

Dr Rami Ranger CBE is chairman and founder of Sun Mark Ltd and Sea, Air & Land Forwarding Ltd. He started his business career in the 1980’s with just £2 and a typewriter from a self-storage unit. Sun Mark Ltd is marketing its fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in 120 countries with staggering results and has won the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for International Trade an unprecedented five consecutive years and is the only company in Britain with this accolade. Dr Ranger himself was named the Institute of Directors’ Director of the Year in 2013.

The generous £250,000 gift to LSBU was used to set up a fund for Enterprise Excellence in Dr Ranger’s name to support student entrepreneurship activities at the university. In addition, LSBU also established the Dr Rami Ranger Centre for Graduate Entrepreneurship, which is providing a hub and workspace for students and graduates on enterprise programmes.

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